Good Book and a Glass of Wine
by Shena1
Summary: 'Deadly Heat' has been out for days... and she now has a quiet evening at home to read it. Very minor spoilers for 'Deadly Heat'. [One-Shot]


**I'm more of an analysis writer, but after months of being a Beta, a couple of people (*ahem* Trinxy and a certain golden pen... *cough* *cough*) challenged me to write a Castle Fic.**

**Here's what spilled on to the page...**

* * *

Saturday night.

Alone in her apartment.

No bodies had dropped all day and she was going to be off tomorrow. She contemplated giving him a call, but she knew he was trying to get some work done tonight.

She was so tempted to send him a quick text, but instead wandered over to her living room. _Deadly Heat _had just been released and she had been dying to read it. Castle had dropped a few plot points and hints during the past months while he was writing it, but he never let any important details slip while she was around.

Picking up her glass of Merlot and her brand new hardcover copy of the novel, she reclined into the corner of her couch.

She slowly ran her hand over the spine of the book. She owned a Kindle, but there was something incredibly glorious about the feel of a book, the smell of the pages. And Castle's books held a special place for her. He knew she was a fan of his work, but she didn't think he'd ever understand just how much she loved his writing.

She gently removed the dust jacket from the book so as not to chance it being damaged while she was reading. She smiled to herself as she released a soft sigh. This was going to be a wonderfully relaxing Saturday night.

Flipping open the cover, the first thing she saw was the dedication. "_To KB: May the dance never end and the music never stop." _

Her heart skipped a beat.

Wow… that man certainly had a way with words. His dedications throughout the years had been wonderful, but this one was perfect in every way. She tried very hard to hold back the tear that was threatening to fall from the corner of her left eye.

He may have been the arrogant bad-boy writer when they met initially, and the years of banter and verbal foreplay was entertaining, but she had to admit that Castle did an amazing job of worming his way into her affections.

She flipped the pages open to the first chapter.

'_Cute, Castle,'_ she thought to herself once she'd read a few pages into the chapter. '_I wondered when the pizza oven was going to make it into one of your books.'_

Having read the other books in the Nikki Heat series several times, she fully expected another walk down memory lane. After all, Castle liked to find authenticity by doing hands-on research, and after five years of playing cop, he'd had plenty of inspiration for his stories.

And because he was inspired by the cases they worked, with every novel Castle wrote, she was made to recall every detail of each murder case she'd worked on since he'd come into her life.

After so many cases and so many bodies, you'd think she'd start to forget the names and faces. But she never did. They were people. They had families. They had had hopes and dreams. She never forgot any of them.

* * *

A few chapters in, she realized her wine glass was empty. She was so warm and comfortable, curled up on the couch in her over-sized hoodie, but her thirst was overpowering. Rising from the cushions, she felt a slight chill course through her body.

'_Maybe it's time to relocate...'_ she contemplated to herself with a slight grin. She made her way into the bathroom and turned on the faucets. She held her hand under the rushing water, adjusting the temperature as the warm liquid filled the tub. After adding lilac-scented bubble bath to the water, she returned to the kitchen to refill her wine glass.

A lengthy and relaxing soak in the tub was just what the doctor ordered.

* * *

As the bubbles caressed every inch of her body, she allowed the warmth of the water to envelop her skin and wrap her in a relaxing embrace as she settled her back against the porcelain.

She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking it would be so nice to just fall asleep right then and there. But she couldn't. The book called to her. She needed to know how the story ended.

Wine glass curled in one hand, she opened the pages and resumed reading.

With all of the crazy theories that Castle had imagined throughout the years, she fully expected a few of them to appear throughout the course of the story. She was also very aware that the novels had been getting slightly darker, slightly more serious as the series progressed… but she wasn't quite ready for this.

The idea of a serial killer stalking Nikki? She'd already had to deal with the fallout from a mentally unstable sniper. Thoughts of Scott Dunn and the apartment explosion still haunted her dreams, and with the possibility of 3XK still at large… Well... Due to the nature of her job, she had a strong stomach, but this? This made even her slightly queasy.

'_It's just a story,'_ she tried to remind herself. '_A figment of Castle's over-active imagination.'_

But even as the darkness of serial killers traipsed through her subconscious, she was able to find joy in the narrative once again.

She'd never been able to stop herself from smiling every time she read the names Ochoa, Raley, and Lauren Parry within the stories, and this novel was no different. Each time the sassy medical examiner verbally sparred with the detectives or the journalist, each time Roach provided some gallows humour to break the tension of a scene, a playful grin crossed her face. Knowing that Nikki was important to Castle was one thing, but she felt a great sense of admiration and - dare she say it - love, knowing that the entire team was just as important to his writing… to him.

She soon became lost in the plot. Time seemed to stop as she became enthralled in the developing mystery. The intrigue. And yes, the innuendo.

But she was brought back to reality as the water in the tub began to cool significantly. Tearing her eyes away from the pages, she noticed that not only were the bubbles completely gone, but as was the wine from her glass.

'_There's a sign if I ever saw one,'_ she giggled to herself.

As she reached for her towel, she caught the sight of her fingers - her once smooth skin now completely wrinkled due to the water. '_Geez! Thanks a lot, Castle!'_ she cursed silently, partially laughing at herself as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

After changing into some sleep shorts and an over-sized t-shirt, she crawled into bed. She was slightly disappointed that there wasn't a warm body lying next to her, but it was just one night. She'd make sure to fix that tomorrow.

She'd already refilled her wine glass, draining the last of the Merlot from the bottle. She wasn't feeling any adverse effects from the alcohol, but she thought that it might be best to have a glass of water nearby as well… if only as a precaution to counter the possibility of a hang-over the next morning.

Pulling the comforter up to her chest, she settled into the pile of pillows at her back.

'_It's only 11:42pm,'_ she mused to herself. '_Maybe just a couple more chapters.'_

* * *

She was planning to stop reading at midnight, but that plan was squashed quickly. Completely caught up in the finely woven tale, she couldn't bring herself to put the book down. The minutes ticked by and she didn't even notice.

The wine had been drained from her glass hours ago, and the water was almost gone as well.

She was so engrossed in the story - the thrill of the mystery, the constant twists in the plot, the wonderful mosaic of clues that were carefully intertwined to keep Nikki and Rook on their toes.

And of course, the love. The pure, unadulterated love that was so evident on every page.

With most guys, you're lucky if you get a phone call or a text. Maybe sometimes even an email. The romantics might even hand write a lovely note. But Richard Castle? Mr. Go-Big-or-Go-Home always took it to the next level. He didn't just write a simple love letter… he wrote almost 300 pages! And that was just this year! He'd been pouring out his heart in the form of best-selling fiction for the past five years - for the entire world to see.

She's pretty sure that if he figured out a way to spell out his complete adoration and devotion using the stars in the heavens, he would.

'_So lucky,'_ she sighed to herself as she reached for her glass and drained the last of the water.

* * *

Her jaw dropped. She closed the book.

The personal details… That ending… She couldn't believe what she'd just read. She'd always been pretty good at reading between the lines, but the subtext in this novel was dripping from every page!

And the acknowledgements?... The words he chose?...

"_Heavenly body"... _

"_Elegant life example"..._

She glanced over at the alarm clock on her bed-side table. 5:07am. She picked up her cell phone and didn't even pause before dialing.

She needed answers. Now.

A quiet, groggy voice answered on the other end. "Hello?..."

"Don't you '_Hello'_ me!" she shouted into her phone.

"Huh?" said the voice on the other end, sounding slightly more awake now. "What time is it? Did a body drop?"

She couldn't take it any more.

"Girl," Lanie sassed into the receiver, "I just finished Castle's book! I want details! Spill!"

* * *

**So there you go... Judge away. :)**


End file.
